Disclaimer: I do not own CSI. I do not own the characters, etc., etc.

This is my thanks for all the awesome reviews for my last story! You guys are amazing! I've picked it up about two weeks after where Burden of Proof left off. Let me know what you think…

Prologue

Approaching the house, her feet slowed automatically. She could hear the raised voices through the open windows of Nick's house. It wasn't difficult to identify the combatants. The pronounced southern drawl gave it away almost immediately.

Sara Sidle moved forward deliberately and entered the house without ringing the bell or knocking. After two weeks of checking on Nick, sleeping on his couch, and just generally hanging around in the time he'd been out of the hospital, Sara knew better than to knock.

Sara's sudden presence in the foyer of Nick's home did nothing to halt the barrage of loud voices and harsh words.

A few moments earlier…

"Nicholas…I just cannot believe that you are doing this now—"

"Well, you don't have to believe it, Ma. You just have to go get on that plane and go back to Dallas."

"Now, Pancho, I thought we had this all settled. You'll come back to the ranch with us and get yourself together. Then you can decide what—"

"No. No. Huh uh." Nick stood with his hands on his hips, his eyes boring holes into his shoes. His quiet response, however, was firm. He cut off his fathers words with a gruff laugh.

"Cisco, you all never even asked me. You told me. I was not part of this decision." Nick raised his eyes to meet his fathers. His voice never wavered, but his eyes shone with unshed tears.

"It seems like its been a helluva long time since I've been allowed to make a decision for myself. Kidnapped—not my choice. Hospitals and doctors poking and prodding me at every turn. Not my decision. Being put on an indefinite leave of absence from my job was definitely not my fucking decision." Nick let out a deep breath.

"And it's not like I didn't know that you two both talked to Catherine about forcing me out. So don't try to deny it."

"Pancho, no one's trying to take anything away from you. Hell, that boss of yours put you back on graveyard with Grissom. We didn't object."

The Judge took a deep breath before continuing. He could see the tears shimmering in his youngest son's eyes. He softened, taking a step forward, and reached out his hand placing it on Nick's shoulder. Before continuing, the Judge forced Nick to look him in the eyes, "we just want to help and we don't think we can do it from here."

Nick looked his father squarely in the eye. Jaw set, eyes glimmering, Nick quietly and decisively said, "I am not moving away from my home, from my friends."

Jillian Stokes just signed and wrapped her arms around herself. Nick may have inherited his emotions from her, but he certainly received a fair share of his father's bull-headedness. Recognizing the beginnings of an all-out show down, Jillian moved over to the dining room and pulled out a chair at the table, taking a seat. Getting involved now would not help the situation. It's like trying to break up two dogs fighting over a bone, all while trying to take the bone away from them, too.

She silently sat and watched as Cisco and Pancho railed against one another. During what appeared to be the high point of the argument she saw the front door open and one of Nick's fellow CSIs enter. To say the least, Sara appeared stunned by the battle she saw raging before her. Both men were red in the face and were so enthralled by their vehement argument that neither noticed Sara's entrance. Jillian caught Sara's eye and nodded to her, shrugging her shoulders. She waived her over and nudged out another chair at the table.

"So what exactly do you think you're going to do, Pancho? Sit in this house everyday waiting to get cleared by the department psychologist so you can go back to a job that almost got you killed? I put up with it when you decided to become a cop…but damnit, Pancho—"

Seeing where this was going, Nick tried to cut him off. He'd heard this all before—how his father was so disappointed in him and his career choices. "I'm going to get better. Running away and hiding in Dallas isn't going to help. This job was always dangerous. And in case you've already forgotten, Dad, Gris and the team were the ones who saved me." Nick's eyes glimmered, but did not falter. Before his father could jump in again, Nick continued.

"The decision to go back to Dallas was yours. I understand that you can't stay. You both have obligations." He looked back and forth between his parents, barely registering that Sara had materialized at his kitchen table at some point in all this. "I appreciate everything you've done so far. I wish you could stay. But I can't leave. I can't run. It's too easy… it just won't work."

Both his parents' faces had softened. His mother was sad but understood what Nick was saying. His father just realized that he wasn't going to win this round. He just didn't want to argue anymore with the son he had almost lost.

Jillian broke the momentary silence. "We just hate leaving you here alone, Nick." She stood and walked to her youngest son. "Just because you're determined to face this and heal…doesn't mean it's going to be an easy path. I hate thinking you'll be all alone when we leave."

That's when Sara made her presence known. "He's not alone." The three Stokes turned to face Sara who spoke from her seat at Nick's table. She stood and moved towards Nick, placing a hand on his arm before she continued.

"I think it's safe to say that anyone and everyone at the lab would do anything to help Nick." She looked at Nick, squeezing his arm gently and giving him a reassuring smile. Nudging him gently in the side and meeting Nick eye to eye, she told him again the words she had said to him that first day in the hospital. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Sara, we know that you've been a good friend to Nick over the years. And we're forever indebted to you for finding him. It's just…"

"I think what my wife is trying to say is that we're worried about Nick being here, in the house, by himself all the time."

Looping her arm through Nick's, Sara met his father's worried eyes. "He won't be. I'll stay with him." Her sudden confidence faltered, and she turned to Nick. "Is that alright with you? I mean, would that be okay? I don't want to—"

Nick gave Sara a small smile and softly cut her off—"I'd appreciate that, Sar." He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her a little closer to him. Turning back to his parents, Nick gave them a questioning look. "Satisfied? I won't be alone."

Jillian still looked concerned. "Mom, I know that you're worried, especially since Sara is working nights—"

"You know, I actually have a lot of vacation time stored up. I don't think it would be a problem to get that approved." She smiled a genuine, gap toothed Sara Sidle smile at Nick's mom. "I promise. I'll take good care of him."

Nick smiled at Sara and then at his parents. Nick released Sara and stepped forward toward his parents. He took hold of his mother's hand and looked between them. "I'm going to be okay. I just need a little time…" Sara could see the tears fall softly over Nick's cheeks. "I promise."

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